Improvement in fence-posts



L. C. GRANT.. Fence-Post.

No. 213,506. Patented Mar. 25,1s79.

E F l y..

N-FETERS. FHOTC-UTHOGMFNER. WASHINGTON. D Cv Uivrrnp STATES PATENTOFFICE.

LEFVIS O. GRANT, OF MESOPOTAMIA, OHIO.

IM PROVEM ENT IN FENCE-POSTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 213,506, dated March25, 1879; application filed lTuly 19, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS C. GRANT, of Mesopotamia, in the county ofTrumbull and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Fences 5 andldo hereby declare that the following is afull and complete description thereof.

.Figure l is a side View, and Fig. 2 an end View. Like letters refer tolike parts in the drawings.

The nature of my improvement in fences relates to the post, which ismade of sheet or strap iron in one piece, with counter-braces on eachside. It further relates to the mode of securing the rails to andbetween the posts by means of screw-bolts, rivets, or their equivalents.

For a more detailed description of the construction ofthe same,reference will be had to the following specication and to the annexeddrawings.

In the drawings, A B represent the posts, and C D E F, Fig. 1, therails. Said posts are made in one piece of band or strap iron, of suchsize and proportions as the nature of the fence may require. The post,as stated, is made in one piece, the end or foot of which may be atright angles to a vertical line of said post, as seen at G Gr. From G itcurves laterally, or it may extend in a straight line to one side, H,thence up to the head I, which may be circular or polygonal, as may berequired. From the head it extends down to G', forming the side J, whichwill be the same as the opposite side, H. The feet Gr G may be securedto a pedestal of stone by any suitable means, or rest upon the ground,and anchored by means of stay-rods passing through the feet into theground, as indicated at K, Fig. 2 5 and for further strengthening theposts and fence, on each side thereof is secured a counter-brace, L andM, the lower ends of which are respectively fastened to the lower partof the post, which is expanded or spread out from the Vertical line ofthe post to increase the area of the base, thereby giving great strengthand rmness to the fence. The upper ends of the braces are bolted orotherwise secured to the sides of the post, as noted at N.

The top rail O may be circular, or other form adapted to the head of thepost, which incloses this rail at the point of connection. The railsbelow are held between the posts, to which they are rmly secured bymeans of the bolts P and N, which extend through the posts and rails, orthe rails may rest upon thebolts, as seen in the drawings.

For the purpose of givin g additional strength to the fence, one or moreof the rails may be extended from one panel to the other withoutbreaking jointthat is, in case the rail E connects with a rail, E', inthe post A, as indicated bythe dotted lines in Fig. 1, the rail E willpass entirely through the post B, and extend through the adjoining panelto the next post, where it will be connected with another rail andsecured together between and with the post in the same way as the railsE and E' are connected with the post A.

Thus the panels of the fence and rails are secured together, making acontinuous fence, and by extending one or more of the rails through eachpost, as shown, it renders the fence much stronger than would be thecase if all the rails of each panel were connected at these ends betweeneach post, as indicated at O O and D D', in post B. y

This mode of extending one or more rails from one post to the other, toavoid connecting all the ends of the rails in one post, may be variedaccording to the nature of the fence and material used.

In place of Wood rails, band or hoop iron may be used, eitherlongitudinally or in an angular position, so as to form lattice orcrossrails for the panels, according to taste or convenience, withoutdeparting from the essential features of this invention, as the railsconstructed ofthe material last referred to would be substantially amere substitute for Wood, and would be connected to and secured to theposts essentially in the same way as the rails two sides just so farapart als to receive the middle rails, the whole secured to :t basepiece by rivets or bolts, and stii'ened by counter-braces L M,substantially as and for the purpose described.

LEWIS C. GRANT. \\'it1iesses E. GOUPTEL, E. H. VoTH.

